Virginia Man Charged in Horse Shooting, Killing

A Virginia man has been charged in connection with the shooting death of a horse in its Chesterfield County, Va., pasture this summer.

Chesterfield County Police Lt. Steven Grohowski said that in late June, police and animal control personnel responded to a call regarding a dead horse in a rural part of the county. A subsequent investigation revealed that the horse had been shot, Grohowski said.

“We were able to recover that bullet and a necropsy was performed on the horse,” Grohowski said.

On July 1, a parallel investigation revealed that five individuals, including the man now charged in the horse killing, were suspected of breaking and entering cars, as well as of one burglary, Grohowski said.

“It turns out that they were all together that night and during the burglary a semi-automatic handgun was taken,” Grohowski said.

Chesterfield County Sheriff's police later received a CrimeStoppers tip about the case, and subsequently announced they were seeking the five individuals involved in the July 1 investigation, he said.

On Oct. 10, Steven A. Dunn turned himself in to Chesterfield County Sheriff's police in connection with the horse shooting case. Dunn was unavailable for comment.

Grohowski said that Dunn is charged with the maiming or killing of livestock punishable by 10 years in prison and $2,500 in fines. Dunn is also charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, Grohowski said, which holds a maximum penalty of up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $2,500.